Nevertheless, fans of gruesome paranormal fiction may enjoy something this original.
Is this a psychological or paranormal novel? Readers will decide as they explore the possible past lives of a girl who claims that she really isn’t who or what people think she is.
Missing for nearly a year, Annaliese remains certain that she is actually a razor-wielding monster who takes girls’ lives and then their places until she moves on to another. Returned home to her stoic father and hysterically possessive mother, Annaliese stays so distant from her parents that she refers to them as “the mom” and “the dad.” She connects only with Dex, the strange boy next door, who takes videos of people’s deaths. She keeps finding intriguing poetry signed “Annaliese” that often connects to events she experiences, but she hides these. Convinced that she’s actually a girl called Anna, an unpleasant boy named Eric stalks her, as does Logan, the popular jock Annaliese once loved but now finds annoying. Although the writing remains interesting throughout, the plot unfolds at such a glacial pace that readers may become frustrated. They identify scenes from Annaliese’s possible past lives mainly from the changing character names, and these become so numerous that readers may need to chart them to keep track. Late in the book, the plot begins to cohere, but many readers may have given up by then.
Nevertheless, fans of gruesome paranormal fiction may enjoy something this original. (Suspense. 14 & up)Pub Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-213595-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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